Estimates of population abundance and survival are critical for effective wildlife management. Obtaining estimates of these kind using traditional wildlife monitoring techniques (i.e. ground and aerial surveys) has proven to be difficult, especially for species that are wide ranging and exist in small, patchily distributed populations. My objective was to implement fecal DNA-based capture-recapture surveys to estimate abundance and survival of two different ungulate populations that inhabit the deserts of southeastern California. I also compared fecal DNA-based capture-recapture techniques to traditional methods by evaluating the costs and precision associated with both methods. Using artificial water sources as focal sampling sites, I performed sampling during the summers of 2015, 2016, and 2017 in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of California. I was able to obtain reasonably precise estimates of abundance and survival for both species. To my knowledge, my study provides the first abundance and survival estimates of desert mule deer in California in over 13 years. Additionally, my study shows that when compared to traditional methods, fecal DNA-based capture recapture techniques can achieve much higher precision at a fraction of the cost.

Global light pollution is increasing worldwide, nearly doubling over the past 25 years, and the encroachment of artificial light into remaining dark areas threatens to disturb natural rhythms of wildlife species, such as bats. Artificial light impacts the behaviour of insectivorous bats in numerous ways, including changing foraging behaviour and altering prey selection. I conducted two manipulative field experiments to investigate effects of light pollution on prey selection in an insectivorous bat community. In the first experiment, I collected fecal samples from 6 species of insectivorous bats in naturally dark and artificially lit conditions and identified prey items using molecular methods. Proportional differences of identified prey were not consistent and appear to be species specific. Red bats, little brown bats, and gray bats exhibited expected increases in moths at lit sites. Beetle-specialist big brown bats had a sizeable increase in beetle consumption around lights, while tri-colored bats and evening bats showed little change in moth consumption between experimental conditions. Dietary overlap was high between experimental conditions within each species, and dietary breadth only changed significantly between experimental conditions in one species, the little brown bat. Our results, building on others, demonstrate that bat-insect interactions may be more nuanced than the common assertion that moth consumption increases around lights. Thus, no single policy is likely to be universally effective in minimizing effects of light pollution on foraging bats because of differences in bat and insect communities, and their interactions. Our work highlights the need for greater mechanistic understanding of bat-light interactions to predict which species will be most affected by light pollution, and to more effectively craft management strategies to minimize unnatural shifts in prey selection caused by artificial lights. In the second experiment, I again focused on changes in foraging due to light pollution by investigating expected knock-on physiological effects, which have not been studied. I measured plasma ß-hydroxybutyrate concentrations from six species of insectivorous bats in naturally dark and artificially lit conditions to investigate effects of light pollution on energy metabolism. We also recorded bat calls acoustically to measure differences in activity levels between experimental conditions. Blood metabolite level and acoustic activity data suggest species-specific changes in foraging around lights. In red bats (Lasiurus borealis), ß-hydroxybutyrate levels at lit sites were highest early in the night followed by a decrease. Acoustic data suggest pronounced peaks in activity at lit sites early in the night. In red bats on dark nights and in the other species in this community, which seem to avoid lights, ß-hydroxybutyrate remained constant, or possibly increased slightly throughout the night. Taken together, our results suggest red bats actively forage around lights and may gain some energetic benefit, while other species in the community avoid lit areas and thus gain no such benefit. Our results demonstrate that artificial light may have a bifurcating effect on bat communities, whereby a few species benefit through concentrated prey resources, yet most do not. Further, this may concentrate light-intolerant species into limited dark refugia, thereby increasing competition for depauperate insect communities, as insects are drawn to artificially lit spaces. It appears then that artificial lights change the environment in such a way as to benefit some species in insectivorous bat communities.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:21:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 3758.pdf: 2809059 bytes, checksum: b38018f70b56ac8d09c7f5cf7e865731 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-05-27 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / ABSTRACT The cougar (Puma concolor) is the second largest feline species in Brazil. It has a wide distribution across the Americas, occurring from southwestern Canada to the Strait of Magellan, in the extreme south of Argentina and Chile, throughout the Brazilian territory. In this study we estimated the minimum number of individuals and genetic diversity of cougars in the Santa Virginia Unit, Serra do Mar State Park (PESM), São Paulo, based on fecal DNA analysis. Hair snares were also used to an attempt to obtain more samples. For the diagnosis of the species, we amplified a 146bp fragment of the cytochrome b gene of mitochondrial DNA. We used six microsatellite loci for the fecal samples individualization, to estimate the minimum number of individuals and genetic characterization of the population. No hair sample was obtained during the study. Among the 40 fecal samples obtained, 34 were successfully diagnosed, and we found 25 samples of P. concolor, eight of Leopardus tigrinus and one of Leopardus pardalis. The multiloci genotypes were obtained for only 15 samples belonging to 12 different puma individuals. The allelic dropout average rate was 10.43%. The mean observed heterozygosity was 0.6202, lower than that found for the species in fragmented areas of Cerrado, in the northeastern São Paulo. There were deviations in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) for one locus and a deficit of heterozygous for the set loci used. However, there was no evidence of recent population bottleneck. Therefore, the deviation in HWE could be caused by the presence of null alleles or the low number of samples. Little relationship was found between individuals (6.1% Half-Sibs), indicating a possible continuous stream of cougars in the region. Thus, the PESM deserves special attention for being the largest continuous remnant of Brazilian Atlantic Forest and, therefore, similar studies are needed in the others Units of this Park so that together they can provide a more comprehensive view of the P. concolor situation in this biome. / A onça-parda (Puma concolor) é a segunda maior espécie de felino do Brasil. Possui uma ampla distribuição pelo continente americano, ocorrendo desde o sudoeste do Canadá até o Estreito de Magalhães, no extremo sul da Argentina e do Chile, passando por todo o território brasileiro. Nesse estudo foi estimado o número mínimo de indivíduos e a diversidade genética da onça-parda a partir de DNA fecal, no Núcleo Santa Virgínia, Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar (PESM), São Paulo. Armadilhas de pelos também foram utilizadas para uma mais uma tentativa na obtenção de amostras. Para o diagnóstico da espécie foi amplificado um pequeno fragmento do gene citocromo b do DNA mitocondrial. Ao todo foram utilizados seis locos de microssatélites para a individualização das amostras de fezes, estimativa do número mínimo de indivíduos e caracterização genética da população. Nenhuma amostra de pelo foi obtida durante o estudo. Dentre as 40 amostras de fezes obtidas, 34 foram diagnosticadas com sucesso, sendo encontradas 25 amostras de P. concolor, oito de Leopardus tigrinus e uma de Leopardus pardalis. Os genótipos multilocos foram obtidos para apenas 15 amostras, pertencentes a 12 indivíduos diferentes de onça-parda. A taxa média de allelic dropout foi de 10,43%. A heterozigosidade média observada foi de 0,6202, inferior a encontrada para a espécie em áreas fragmentadas do Cerrado, na região nordeste do Estado de São Paulo. Houve desvio no equilíbrio de Hardy-Weinberg (HWE) para um dos locos e déficit de heterozigotos para o conjunto de locos utilizados. Contudo, não houve evidência de gargalo populacional recente. Dessa forma, o desvio no HWE pode ter sido causado pela presença de alelos nulos ou pelo baixo número de amostras. Pouca relação foi encontrada entre os indivíduos (6,1% de HS), indicando um possível fluxo contínuo de onças-pardas na região. Sendo assim, o PESM merece especial atenção por ser o maior remanescente contínuo da Mata Atlântica brasileira e, por isso, estudos similares são necessários nos demais Núcleos desse Parque para que juntos possam fornecer uma visão mais abrangente da situação da espécie P. concolor nesse bioma.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:21:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5005.pdf: 2296978 bytes, checksum: 77a669d7d6cbf4916130d05c32dc1e39 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-02-28 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / The loss and fragmentation of habitat due to intensive human intervention are the main threats to natural populations. Species with low density and large home range, like felids, are the most threatened species by these changes. In an attempt to minimize this impact, detection of population density and genetic characterization are necessary to propose conservation measures. Thus, the main objective of this study was to characterize the populations of two species of felines, cougars (Puma concolor) and ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) of Caetetus Ecological Station (EEC - SP, one of the last remnants of Atlantic Forest within the state of São Paulo), about their demographic and genetic characteristics from non-invasive samples (feces and hairs).We collected the samples on EEC tracks and identified the species, individualized each sample, sexed each individual and calculated the genetic diversity of the population using molecular markers. Abundance was estimated from the capture-recapture historic, with opened and closed population models. We identified 17 samples of feces cougar and 12 of ocelot. Of these samples, six individuals were individualized as cougar and five as ocelot, these numbers represent the minimum population sizes for the entire sample period (18 months). The values of abundance and density estimated using the model of closed population was more similar to that found in genetic individualization, five individuals for each species and densities of 4.92/100 km2 (P. concolor) and 19.51/100 km2 (L. pardalis). The genetic diversity of the two species was lower than that from other studies, probably due the landscape´s fragmentation, which reduces the gene flow with others populations. Also, the genetic diversity for L. pardalis was lower than P. concolor, which is possibly related to the ocelot behavior of avoid opened and disturbed areas, which can reduce the potential for gene flow. Furthermore, we also observed structure of P. concolor from EEC with populations from other locations, but we also identified gene flow, including relatedness. Thus, the results of genetic diversity and demographics demonstrate the importance of the Ecological Station Caetetus for these species and also underscores the importance of establishing measures to enable the viability of its populations over long term, as facilitating gene flow with individuals from others locations. / A perda e fragmentação do habitat, decorrentes da intensa intervenção antrópica, estão entre as principais ameaças às populações naturais. Espécies com baixa densidade e grandes áreas de vida, como os felinos, são ainda mais prejudicadas por essas mudanças. Na tentativa de minimizar esse impacto, a detecção da densidade populacional e a caracterização genética são necessárias para que medidas de conservação sejam propostas. Nesse sentido, o objetivo principal deste trabalho foi caracterizar populações de duas espécies de felinos, onça-parda (Puma concolor) e jaguatirica (Leopardus pardalis) da Estação Ecológica dos Caetetus (EEC SP, um dos últimos remanescentes de Mata Atlântica no interior do estado de São Paulo), quanto às suas características demográficas e genéticas, a partir de amostras não invasivas (fezes e pelos). Coletamos as amostras nas trilhas da EEC, das quais pudemos identificar as espécies, individualizar, sexar cada indivíduo e calcular a diversidade genética da população utilizando marcadores moleculares. A abundância foi estimada a partir do histórico de captura-recaptura com modelos de população aberta e fechada. Identificamos geneticamente 17 amostras de fezes de onça-parda e 12 de jaguatirica. Dessas amostras, individualizamos seis indivíduos de onça-parda e cinco de jaguatirica, sendo esses os tamanhos populacionais mínimos para todo o período de amostragem (18 meses, entre dezembro de 2010 a maio de 2013). Os valores de estimativa de abundância e densidade utilizando o modelo de população fechada foram mais próximos ao encontrado na individualização genética, sendo cinco indivíduos para cada espécie e densidades de 4,92/100 km2 (P. concolor) e 19,51/100 km2 (L. pardalis). A diversidade genética encontrada para as duas espécies foi menor quando comparada com outros trabalhos, provavelmente ao menor fluxo gênico com outras populações devido à fragmentação da paisagem. Além disso, a diversidade genética encontrada para L. pardalis foi menor quando comparada a P. concolor, possivelmente relacionado ao hábito da espécie em evitar áreas mais abertas e antropizadas, o que pode reduzir o potencial de fluxo gênico. Já para P. concolor foi encontrada estruturação com populações de outras localidades, mas também identificamos fluxo gênico, inclusive com relações de parentesco. Dessa forma, os resultados obtidos de demografia e diversidade genética demostram a importância da Estação Ecológica dos Caetetus para essas espécies e também ressalta a importância da criação de medidas que permitam a viabilidade de suas populações a longo prazo, como as que facilitem fluxo gênico com indivíduos de outras localidades.